Disney
as portrayed by controversial artist Banksy]] The Walt Disney Studios '''(also known as '''Disney) are a company that produce films and television programs, whose target audience includes children. They are one of the most popular film companies internationally and are mostly recognised for their animated films. The company was founded by Walt Disney in 1923. The Walt Disney Studios Histroy Their first animated feature was Snow White & The Seven Dwarves (1937). For nearly 60 years, Disney was celebrated most times the company released a feature film. Soon the studio turned to digital technology to churn them out like butter, so eventually nobody cared anymore. During the 1990s, Disney worked with Pixar, a CGI animation studio, and started to produce 3D animated films, such as Toy Story. The 3D films took on the quality role as they were harder to produce, but eventually, they are now beginning to knock these out production line style as well. Since 2004's Home On The Range, most of the studio's animated features are CGI-animated. Very few of the features were hand-drawn, including 2009's The Princess & The Frog and 2011's Winnie The Pooh. Over the years, Disney has extended its business and acquired ownership/founded multiple film production companies including Miramax Films, Dimension Films and Lucasfilm. Disney has also been the subject of debate/controversy. Some of its films were accused of racism and anti-semitism. List of films produced by Disney (including live-action movies and Pixar movies) Films released when Walt Disney was alive Between Disney's death and the Renaissance Disney Renaissance Post-Disney Renaissance Disneyland One of their biggest sources of revenue is Disneyland, an internationally known amusement park, which is often referred to as 'the most magical place on Earth'. There are multiple international theme parks in relation to Disneyland. The first one was built in Anaheim, California, USA, on July 17th 1955. Other locations include Walt Disney World in Florida (opened in 1971), Disneyland Paris (1992), Tokyo Disney Resort (1983) and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort (2005), plus Shanghai Disney Resort which was due to open in 2015. The theory for the attractions' magic is debatably due to the fact that people dress up as characters from the films, such as Mickey Mouse, and the buildings resembling the famous settings, such as the castle from Sleeping Beauty. When the first resort opened, Walt Disney stated; To all who come to this happy place: Welcome. Ownership to other studios The Walt Disney Studios is the main production arm for Disney's films. Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Animation Studios were the first companies to be owned by Studios. As the years progressed, Studios expanded the business, founded DisneyToon Studios and Disneynature, and acquired ownership to Pixar Animation Studios and Lucasfilm. The Studios also acted as a distribution company for Touchstone Pictures, known for the production of such films as Dead Poet's Society (1989), Good Morning Vietnam (1987), War Horse (2011) and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). Formally, the Studios owned Hollywood Pictures (until its fate in 2007), Miramax Films (from 1993-2010), Dimension Films (from 1993-2005) and Disney Circle 7 Animation (a short lived company which lasted between 2004-2006). Politics and controversy The founder Walt Disney was long rumoured and accused of racial Stereotyping and supporting the Nazis (a right wing political group who were in power in Germany during the Second World War). In fact, as witnessed by one of the animators, Art Babbitt, Disney and his lawyer, Gunther Lessing, regularly attended meetings of the German American Bund, a pro-Nazi organization in the late 1930s. Family members claim that Disney was antisemitic and Misogynistic but not everyone agrees. Walt Disney’s grandniece backs up Meryl Streep’s racism claims: ‘Anti-Semite? Check. Misogynist? OF COURSE!!! Meryl Streep accuses Walt Disney of sexism; Disney family responds In Defense of Walt Disney In Defense of Walt – Walt Disney and Anti-Semitism If Disney ever was a Nazi sympathiser it's likely he changed his views before the Disney company produced, Walt Disney - Anti Nazi Cartoon - Good Quality readers can check out this cartoon and see for themselves. Disney was Conservative by today's standards and during the Cold War he was strongly anti Communist. Disney even gave evidence for Joseph McCarthy. he religions and political views of Walt Disney Apparently, when the company discussed the synopsis of Snow White & The Seven Dwarves, Walt spoke about the scene where the dwarves pile on top of each other and referred to the pile as the 'nigger pile'. During one of the re-edits of Fantasia (the company's third film to be produced and first to compare animation with live-action), a scene with a female half-black centaur was edited out which generated controversy, but Walt felt it would be too racist if he left the scene in. According to the Walt Disney Family Museum, Walt had difficult relationships with certain Jewish individuals (though some of his school mates were Jewish), who worked for his company. After the 1941 strike, animator and director, David Swift, who was Jewish, announced his resignation to take a job at Columbia Pictures. Disney sarcastically responded "Okay Davy boy, off you go to work for those Jews. It's where you belong with those Jews". The rumour regarding whether Walt actually disliked Jews was parodied in future media projects; e.g. in the Family Guy episode, "Road To The Multiverse", Brian and Stewie arrive in the Disney universe. They witness Mort Goldman (a Jewish character) greeting the other characters, who angrily respond, "Jew!" and beat him up. Despite Walt's occasional slurs, the company's films do not contain any evidence of racial bigotry/hypocrisy and some of the employers (including exes) come from various different backgrounds. Walt apparently was a fan of the left-wing film, To Kill A Mockingbird. The Sherman Brothers, Robert and Richard, who wrote the songs for some of the films were part-Jewish. In fact, over the years, the company has produced a range of left-wing films. These include; *Bambi - supports animal rights - the apparent reason why Paul McCartney became a vegetarian. *The Lady & The Tramp - Lady, a dog owned by a wealthy family, befriends and falls for The Tramp, a homeless dog. - the film covers themes of feminism, and also supports money sharing (i.e. Feed The Birds, which could also suggest animal rights and anti-poverty). *Robin Hood - one of Disney's important films to express liberal views, based on the famous 12th/13th century liberal hero who robs the rich to feed the poor. *The Rescuers - Miss Bianca, a member of the Rescue Aid Society, chooses lower class janitor Bernard as her co-agent to rescue an orphan who is being mistreated by a greedy pawnshop owner. pawn-shop owner in the Rescuers]] *The Little Mermaid - Ariel rebels against her father's orders to not interact with the 'human world', hence her love for Prince Eric and proves that the human world is not as bad as King Triton viewed it. This film shows that Conservatives cannot always be right about contact with different worlds. father's wishes and attempts to interact with the outside world in The Little Mermaid]] *The Rescuers Down Under - sequel to the Rescuers. An Australian boy, who attempts to prevent a rare eagle from being hunted is held hostage by local poacher Pecival McLeach, leading to Bianca and Bernard to take on another rescue mission. *Aladdin - The protagonist is a homeless 'street-rat' with very little money for him and his pet monkey to survive on. He befriends a princess who hates the pointless law of having to marry a wealthy man. *Pocahontas - a true story film based on the relationship between a white English captain and a dark skinned Native American woman. *The Hunchback Of Notre Dame - A deformed bell-ringer, whose father is arrested and mother killed, discovers his guardian, who is the conservative minister of justice, plans to eliminate gypsies and befriends a gypsy himself. *Mulan - another film that explores feminism; a Chinese woman sneaks into the male-only army to fight in defence against the Huns who have invaded the city. *Atlantis: The Lost Empire - Milo rebels against Commander Rourke's careless scheme to sell a crystal which the Atlanteans need for the survival of the lost city. The film was also nominated for 3 Political Film Society awards including for Democracy, Human Rights and Peace. References Category:media Category:Business Category:Film